CALIFORNIA 
AGRICULTURAL  EXTENSION  SERVICE 

CIRCULAR  18 

APRIL,  1928 


The  Agricultural  Situation 
in  California 


AS  PRESENTED  BY 

THE  STAFF  OF  THE 
COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


Cooperative  Extension  work  in  Agriculture  and  Home  Economics,  College  of  Agriculture, 
University  of  California,  and  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  cooperating.  Dis- 
tributed in  furtherance  of  the  Acts  of  Congress  of  May  8  and  June  30,  1914.  B.  H.  Crocheron, 
Director,  California  Agricultural  Extension  Service. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  PRINTING  OFFICE 
BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

1928 


THIS   cii'ciiljir    i'('|)|-(k1ik'('s,    as    Tail  lil'iilly    as    possihic, 
the  addresses  delivered   at  the  eeoiiomie  coMl'ereiR'es 
held  in  connection  with  the  visit  of  the  demonstration 
train,  known  as  the  '^California  Agriculture  Special,"  to 
twenty-four  communities  of  the  interior  valleys  of  Cali- 
fornia during-  the  last  two  weeks  in  March,  1928. 

The  addresses,  limited  in  total  time  for  deliverance  to 
an  hour  and  a  quarter,  do  not,  of  course,  give  a  complete 
picture  of  the  economic  situation  nor  all  of  its  possible 
remedies.  They  do,  however,  give  what  has  been  termed 
the  ''best  portrayal  of  the  present  situation"  practicable 
within  the  time  limits  involved.  Those  w^hose  interest  was 
roused  by  this  presentation  or  who  read  it  as  reproduced 
in  this  circular,  will  perhaps  be  interested  in  obtaining 
circulars  and  bulletins  from  the  College  of  Agriculture 
which  treat  certain  of  our  California  special  crops  in  great 
and  individual  detail. 

The  section  on  "Fruit  Crops"  was  prepared  and  pre- 
sented by  Dr.  H.  R.  Wellman,  Director  W.  L.  Howard  and 
Professor  R.  W.  Hodgson.  The  section  on  "Livestock" 
was  prepared  and  presented  by  Professor  E.  C.  Voorhies, 
Dr.  G.  H.  Hart  and  Dr.  C.  M.  Haring.  The  section  on 
"Remedies  and  Adjustments"  Avas  prepared  and  presented 
by  Professor  R.  L.  Adams,  Professor  C.  P.  Shaw  and 
Professor  Frank  Adams.  The  final  section  on  "Local 
Progress"  was  prepared  and  presented  by  Professor 
C.  W.  Rubel,  Professor  LeRoy  B.  Smith,  Mr.  T.  C.  Mayhew 
and  the  writer.  This  circular  is  therefore  a  contribution 
fi'om  rei)resentatives  of  the  staff  of  the  College  of  Agri- 
culture. 

B.  H.  Crociieron, 

Director  of  Agricultural  Extension. 


THE   AGRICULTURAL   SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 

as  presented  by 
The  Staff  of  the  College  of  Agriculture 


THE    FRUIT    SITUATION 

Much  has  been  written  and  said  about  the  post-war  agricultural 
depression.  Everybody  agrees  pretty  well  that  there  has  been  a 
depression  in  agriculture.  The  farmer's  dollar  is  not  worth  as  much 
as  it  used  to  be.  That  is  to  say,  the  farmer  cannot  purchase  as  much 
of  other  commodities  with  the  money  he  receives  for  a  unit  of  his 
product  today  as  he  could  before  the  war.  His  purchasing  power  is 
lower. 


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Fig.  1. — Purchasing  power  of  farm  products  in  terms  of  non-agricultural 
commodities,    1910-1927. 

The  changes  in  the  purchasing  power  of  farm  products  in  terms 
of  non-agricultural  commodities  are  shown  in  figure  1.  You  will 
notice  that  the  purchasing  power  began  to  decline  in  1919,  and 
continued  downward  through  1920,  reaching  a  low  point  in  1921  and 
1922.  Between  1922  and  1925  there  was  considerable  recovery.  The 
drop  in  1926  was  chiefly  due  to  the  low  ])rice  of  cotton  ;  but  now 
the  curve  is  again  back  to  the  level  it  reached  in  1925. 

In  this  curve  of  ])urcliasing  power  of  farm  ])r()ducts  the  clumges 
are  of  course  different  from  the  ex|)erieiices  of  many  of  oui-  California 
crops.  This  curve  is  largely  made  up  of  the  ])rices  ol*  the  gi-ent 
national  crops  such  as  wheat,  corn,  barley,  potatoes,  and  the  livestock 
products. 


CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    P:XTENSION    SERVICE  L<^ii^^'-  1^ 


TABLE  1 

Percentage  Change  in  the  Acreage  of  Ce,rtain  Field  Crops  in   California 
Between  1919-1920  and  1924-1925 

Crop  Per  cent 

Wheat    -.. —  46 

Grain  sorghums  — 46 

Corn  - —  43 

Beans    -..  —  42 

Eice - -  —  39 

Potatoes    --.  — 35  • 

Sugar  beets    — 30 

Oats —22 

Barley   — 19 

Hay  (tame)   .-.  —  13 

Field  crops  —  26 

Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service. 

Now,  what  effect  did  this  depression  in  the  great  national  crops 
have  upon  California  agriculture?  For  one  thing,  the  farmers  in 
this  state  greatly  reduced  their  acreage  of  these  commodities,  as  is 
shown  in  table  1.  Between  the  two  periods  shown  here,  namely, 
1919-1920  and  1924-1925,  the  acreage  of  every  one  of  the  important 
field  crops  grown  in  California  declined,  the  percentage  decrease 
ranging  from  13  per  cent  in  the  case  of  hay  to  over  40  per  cent  in 
the  case  of  corn,  wheat,  grain  sorghums,  and  beans.  In  the  total  field 
crops  in  California  there  was  a  decline  of  a  million  and  a  half  acres, 
or  26  per  cent. 

TABLE  2 

Percentage  Change  in   Total.  Acreage  of   California  Fruits   Between 

1920  AND  1925 

Crops  ■  Per  cent  Croi).s  Per  cent 

Figs    +  156  Cherries +  19 

Grapefruit   +  103  Prunes    +  14 

Ahnonds  +    82  Oranges    +  ^ 

Apricots  +    55  Lemons  —  5 

Pears    +    48 

Peaches    +    46  Table  grapes  +  130 

Plums  -f-    46  Raisin  grapes  +  66 

Walnuts   +    33  Juice  grapes  +  46 

Olives   +    22  Total  grapes  +  71 

Grand  total +  43 

Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service. 


1928J  THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  5 

What  did  the  farmers  do  with  their  land?  Many  of  them  turned 
to  the  production  of  California  specialties :  crops  which  are  grown 
only  or  chiefly  in  this  state.  These  specialty  crops  are,  of  course,  our 
fruit  and  vegetable  crops.  So  we  find  that  during  the  same  i)eriod 
that  farmers  reduced  their  acreage  of  field  crops,  they  greatly  increased 
their  acreage  of  fruit  and  vegetable  crops.  The  increases  in  the 
acreage  of  the  main  fruit  crops  are  shown  in  table  2.  You  will  notice 
that  there  was  an  increase  in  the  acreage  of  every  one  of  them,  except 
lemons.  With  some  of  them  the  increases  were  very  large :  figs,  156 
per  cent ;  grapefruit,  103  per  cent ;  almonds,  82  per  cent ;  vines,  71 
per  cent ;  apricots,  55  per  cent ;  pears,  48  per  cent ;  peaches,  46  per 
cent,  and  so  on.  The  total  fruit  acreage  in  the  state  was  increased 
by  573,000  acres,  an  increase  of  43  per  cent. 

The  relatively  high  prices  of  fruit  were  the  chief  cause  for  this 
enormous  increase.  It  will  be  recalled  that  the  prices  of  the  great 
staple  crops  were  very  low  in  1921  and  1922.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
prices  of  most  of  our  fruit  crops  remained  high.  While  the  corn  and 
wheat  farmers  of  the  Middle  West  were  in  many  instances  going  broke, 
the  fruit  farmers  of  California  were  still  riding  on  the  wave  of 
prosperity.  And  evidently  many  of  us  believed  that  this  period  of 
prosperity  would  continue  indefinitely.  So  we  went  blithely  on  our 
way  planting  more  and  more  fruit. 

TABLE  3 

Percentage  Change  in  Prices  of  California  Fruits  Between  1921-1922 

AND  1926-1927 

Crops  Per  cent  Crops  Per  eeiU 

Figs    —44  Walnuts   +10 

Primes    — 37  Cherries    +18 

Plums -..  — 33  Oranges    +27 

Peaches    - —30 

Olives   — 26  Table  grapes  — 64 

Pears — 20  Juice  grapes  — 39 

Apricots  .-..  Raisin  grapes  — 33 

Almonds  +    2 

Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service. 

Well,  what  was  the  result?  Just  exactly  what  Ave  might  have 
expected.  Prices  began  to  drop.  Table  3  shows  a  list  of  the  important 
fruit  crops,  together  with  the  percentage  increase  or  decrease  in  their 
average  prices  between  1921-1922  and  1926-1927.  The  minus  signs 
which  indicate  a  decline  in  price  become  almost  monotonous  in  their 


6  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [ClRC.  18 

regiilarity.  Look  down  the  list.  There  have  been  price  declines  in 
fig^s,  prunes,  plums,  peaches,  olives,  pears,  and  all  classes  of  grapes. 
Fortunately  there  are  a  few  bright  spots.  Apricots,  almonds,  walnuts, 
cherries,  and  oranges  are  still  in  a  favorable  price  position.  But  this 
in  itself  does  not  carry  the  guarantee  that  they  will  always  remain 
there. 

Now  an  over-expansion  in  tree  and  vine  crops  is  in  some  ways 
more  serious  than  an  over-expansion  in  annual  crops  such  as  wheat, 
corn,  and  potatoes.  In  the  first  place,  since  the  production  from  tree 
crops  does  not  increase  until  several  years  after  they  are  planted, 
there  is  not  a  quick  check  on  plantings  caused  by  lower  prices.  In 
the  second  place,  readjustment  of  fruit  acreages  takes  place  slowly. 
One  hesitates  to  pull  out  an  orchard  which  will  continue  to  bear  for 
another  15,  20,  or  even  40  years. 

Now  let  us  look  more  carefully  into  the  situation  regarding  some 
of  these  fruit  crops.  Space  will  not  permit  going  into  detail  here 
regarding  each  of  them,  so  only  a  few  Avill  be  discussed. 

Peaches. — Clingstone  peach  growers  received  lower  prices  for 
peaches  this  past  year  than  they  have  in  any  year  since  1910,  with  the 
single  exception  of  1915.  Some  of  the  important  factors  bearing  on 
the  canned  peach  situation  are  shown  in  figure  2.  The  solid  line 
represents  the  pack  of  canned  peaches  in  California,  which  is,  of 
course,  the  United  States  pack.  The  dashed  line  represents  the  pur- 
chasing power  of  Clingstone  peaches,  that  is,  the  amount  of  other 
commodities  which  growers  can  buy  with  the  money  they  receive  for 
a  ton  of  peaches,  as  compared  with  the  pre-war  average.  It  is  par- 
ticularly significant  that  the  trend  of  purchasing  power  has  been 
downward.  This  means  that  if  growers  are  to  enjoy  the  same  income 
per  acre  they  had  on  the  average  between  1910  and  1914,  they  must 
either  get  higher  yields  at  the  same  cost  per  acre  or  reduce  their  costs 
per  acre  with  the  same  yield. 

One  obvious  reason  for  the  decline  in  purchasing  power  was  the 
enormous  increase  in  the  canned  pack,  as  indicated  by  the  rising  line 
of  trend.  In  1910  the  pack  amounted  to  2,500,000  cases,  in  1926  to 
14,500,000  cases,  and  in  1927  to  11,200,000  cases.  You  will  notice 
that  the  canned  peach  pack  has  increased  much  faster  than  the  United 
States  population. 

There  has  been  a  substantial  increase  in  the  per  capita  consumption 
of  canned  peaches  in  the  United  States.  A  part  of  this  increase  in  per 
capita  consumption  has  been  due  to  lower  prices.     Consumers  can 


1928] 


THE   AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 


buy  canned  peaches  more  cheaply  now ;  consequently  they  eat  more 
of  them.  On  the  other  hand,  a  part  of  the  increase  in  per  capita 
consumption  has  been  due  to  the  change  in  the  buying  habits  of  the 
American  housewife,  namely,  the  buying  of  easily  prepared  foods. 
Instead  of  buying  fresh  peaches  and  canning  them,  many  housewives 
now  buy  canned  peaches.  Thus  we  find  that  while  there  has  been 
a  substantial  increase  in  the  per  capita  consum])tion  of  canned  i)eaches 
there  has  been  some  decrease  in  the  per  capita  consumption  of  fresh 
and  dried  peaches. 


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Fig-.  2. — Canned  peach  production  and  purchasing  power,  California,  1910-1927. 


The  trend  of  canned  peach  production  is  likelj^  to  continue  upward 
during  the  next  few  years.  This  past  year  there  were  79,000  acres  of 
Clingstone  peaches  in  bearing  in  this  state.  By  1930  there  will 
probably  be  96,000  acres  in  bearing,  27,000  more  acres  than  at  present, 
an  increase  of  34  per  cent.  What  do  you  expect  will  happen  to  prices 
if  all  of  this  acreage  comes  into  bearing  ? 

The  outlook  for  Freestone  peaches  is  not  quite  so  discouraging. 
The  increase  in  the  bearing  acreage  of  Freestones  in  this  state  during 
the  past  few  years  has  not  been  nearly  as  great  as  that  of  Clingstones ; 


8  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [CiRC.  18 

and  the  recent  plantings  have  scarcely  been  sufficient  to  replace  the 
acreage  that  will  normally  be  taken  out.  It  does  not  appear,  therefore, 
that  there  will  be  any  further  increase  in  the  bearing  acreage  of 
Freestones  in  California  during  the  next  few  years.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  were  very  heavy  plantings  of  peaches  in  the  South  and 
in  certain  Middle  Western  states  between  1921  and  1924.  Manj^  of 
these  plantings  have  not  yet  reached  the  full  bearing  age. 

The  story  of  peaches  is  similar  to  the  story  of  many  of  the  other 
fruits  in  a  greater  or  less  degree. 

Grapes. — Raisin  and  table  grape  prices  have  been  unprofitably  low 
for  several  years.  These  low  prices  were  a  result  of  an  enormous 
increase  in  production.  The  increase  in  production,  in  turn,  was 
caused  chiefly  by  the  relatively  high  prices  of  all  classes  of  grapes 
between  1919  and  1921.  This  three-year  period  was  undoubtedly  the 
most  prosperous  three-year  period  in  the  history  of  the  grape  industry. 
The  high  tide  of  prosperity  greatly  stimulated  plantings.  Within  the 
brief  period  of  three  years  about  220,000  acres  of  vineyards  were 
planted  in  this  state,  and  in  one  year  alone  nearly  100,000  acres. 

TABLE  4 
Bearing  AcrEu'VGe  of  Certain  Fruits,  California 
(Thousands  of  acres,  i.e.,  000  omitted) 
Crop  1927  Forecast  1929  Per  cent  change 

Pears    58  77  +  32.8 

Figs  45  58  4-  28.9 

Prunes    165  181  -f    9.7 

1930 

Table  grapes  145  145  

Juice   grapes 167  177  +    6.0 

Eaisin  grapes   350  340  —    2.9 

Data  from  California  Cooperative  Crop  Reporting  Service. 

In  addition  to  the  increased  production  of  raisins  in  California 
there  was  a  rapid  expansion  in  production  elsewhere  in  the  world, 
particularly  in  Australia.  The  world  output  of  raisins  is  now  about 
25  per  cent  greater  than  average  production  before  the  war.  The 
normal  raisin  crops  in  foreign  countries  in  the  next  few  years  are 
not  likely  to  be  any  smaller  than  the  average  of  recent  years,  and 
they  may  be  even  larger.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  California  raisins 
in  foreign  markets  are  likely  to  meet  competition  from  other  raisin 
exporting  countries,  at  least  as  keen  as  in  the  past.  While  there  will 
probably  be  some  decline  in  the  bearing  acreage  of  raisin  grapes  in 
California  by  1929   (see  table  4),  it  is  not  likely  to  be  sufficient  to 


1928J  THE   AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  9 

cause  any  great  decrease  in  production.  With  such  an  outlook  for 
domestic  production  and  with  the  prospect  of  large  foreign  crops,  we 
can  hardl.y  expect  the  prices  of  California  raisins  tO'  rise  above  the 
present  level  for  several  years. 

The  outlook  for  table  grapes  is  about  as  unfavorable  as  for  raisin 
grapes.  The  present  bearing  acreage  of  table  grapes  in  California 
is  fully  two  and  one-half  times  as  large  as  in  1919,  and  there  are  few, 
if  any,  indications  that  there  will  be  a  substantial  decrease  in  acreage 
during  the  next  few  years. 

So  far  juice  grapes  have  been  in  a  more  favorable  price  position 
than  raisin  or  table  grapes.  The  expansion  in  juice  grape  acreage  did 
not  occur  until  several  years  after  the  expansion  in  the  other  classes 
of  grapes.  Consequently,  prices  have  not  declined  as  much.  The  more 
favorable  prices  of  juice  grapes  during  recent  years  have  stimulated 
plantings,  however.  You  will  notice  that  the  forecast  (table  4)  indi- 
cates a  substantial  increase  by  1929.  The  increased  production  of 
juice  grapes  resulting  from  this  expansion  is  likely  to  cause  a  further 
decline  in  their  price. 

Pears. — Between  1920  and  1927  the  bearing  acreage  of  pears  in 
California  practically  doubled.  In  addition  there  were  substantial 
increases  in  Oregon  and  Washington.  In  table  3  it  was  shown  that 
the  prices  of  pears  declined  20  per  cent  between  1921-22  and  1926-27. 

It  is  expected  that  there  will  be  a  further  substantial  increase  in 
bearing  acreage  in  this  state.  The  forecast  for  1930  indicates  an 
increase  of  33  per  cent  over  the  present  bearing  acreage  (table  4), 
It  is  difficult  to  see  how  consumers  can  be  induced  to  buy  a  third  more 
pears  from  California  at  the  present  level  of  prices. 

Prunes. — The  production  of  prunes  in  California  and  in  the  world 
as  a  w^hole  is  still  on  the  increase.  In  this  state  the  bearing  acreage 
will  probably  be  10  per  cent  larger  in  1930  than  it  is  now.  The 
available  facts  indicate  that  there  will  be  little  if  any  increase  in 
the  general  level  of  prices  for  prunes  over  those  prevailing  in  recent 
years,  unless  some  means  of  increasing  the  demand  for  prunes  can 
be  found. 

Figs. — Figs  are  in  much  the  same  situation  as  the  fruits  just 
discussed.  There  has  been  an  enormous  increase  in  the  fig  acreage  in 
the  state  during  recent  years.  Prices  during  the  past  two  years  have 
averaged  44  per  cent  below  the  prices  in  1921  and  1922.  By  1930  it 
is  expected  that  the  bearing  acreage  will  be  almost  one-third  larger 
than  at  present. 

But  enough  has  been  said  on  these  fruits.  Let  us  turn  to  some 
of  the  fruits  that  are  still  in  a  favorable  price  position. 


10 


CALIFORNIA   AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE 


[Cmc.  18 


Apricots. — As  contrasted  with  the  situation  in  the  fruits  just 
discussed,  apricot  growers  have  received  relatively  hig-h  prices  on 
the  average  during  recent  years.  And  the  chief  reason  why  apricot 
prices  have  been  high  is  that  i)roduction  of  apricots  has  increased 
only  slightly.  Figure  3  tells  the  story.  The  increase  in  apricot 
production,  which  is  represented  by  the  solid  line,  amounted  to  only 
three  per  cent  a  year,  which  is  small  as  compared  with  the  increase 


Production 
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Fig.  3. — Production,  bearing  acreage  and  purcliasijig  power  of  apricots, 
California,  1909-1927. 


in  production  of  many  of  our  fruits.  This  comparatively  small 
increase  in  production  was  not  sufficient  to  cause  a  decline  in  pur- 
chasing power,  which  is  re])resented  by  the  dashed  line,  because  the 
demand  for  apricots  increased  more  than  the  supply.  As  a  result 
growers  can  normally  buy  slightly  more  of  other  commodities  with 
the  money  they  receive  for  a  ton  of  apricots  today  than  they  could 
five,  ten,  or  fifteen  years  ago.  This  situation  is  unusual.  Apricot 
growers  have  felt  the  agricultural  depression  less  than  most  farmers. 
The  relatively  high  prices  received  for  apricots  as  compared  with 
most  commodities  has  been  an  important  cause  for  the  recent  expan- 
sion in  apricot  acreage.  Between  1918  and  1927  the  bearing  acreage 
of  apricots  increased  100  per  cent,  and  it  is  likely  that  there  will  be  a 


1928] 


THE   AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 


11 


still  further  increase  during:  tlie  next  few  years.  The  recent  increase 
in  bearing"  acreage,  however,  has  not  as  yet  resulted  in  a  corresponding 
increase  in  production ;  the  increase  in  production  between  1918  and 
1927  amounted  to  only  13  per  cent.  The  failure  of  production  to  keep 
pace  with  the  rapid  increase  in  bearing  acreage  was  caused  in  the 
main  b}^  two  factors:  (1)  A  relatively  large  proportion  of  the  trees 
listed  as  bearing  during  recent  years  have  not  yet  reached  the  age  of 
maximum  bearing.      (2)    The  newer  plantings  were  more  generally 


Per-capita 
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Fig.   4. — United  States  per   capita,  supply  of  almonds    (average   1913-1915, 
100)    and  purcliasing  power   of   California    almonds    (average    1910-1914,    100). 


made  in  sections  less  favorable  to  high  production.  Indications  are 
that  the  first  factor  has  exerted  the  dominant  influence.  Therefore,  if 
the  i^resent  acreage  comes  into  full  bearing  and  if  favorable  climatic 
conditions  prevail  during  the  next  few  years,  there  will  undoubtedly 
be  a  substantial  increase  in  production.  Is  it  likely  that  this  probable 
increase  can  be  absorbed  at  the  relatively  high  price  level  that  apricots 
now  occupy? 

Almonds. — The  almond  situation  oifers  a  curious  contract  to  that 
of  most  other  fruits.  The  ])urchasing  power  of  almonds,  as  shown 
by  the  solid  line,  was  at  the  lowest  point  in  1920  (fig\  4).  Between 
1915  and  1920  the  trend  of  purcliasing  power  was  downward.  The 
most  important  cause  for  this  downward  trend  was  the  rapid  increase 
in  the  supplies  of  almonds  in  the  United  States.  The  increase  in 
almond  supplies  came  from  two  sources :  ( 1 )  increased  production  in 
California,  and  (2)  increased  imports,  mainly  from  Italy  and  Spain. 

After  1920  the  trend  of  purchasing  power  turned  upward,  and 
it  has  continued  in  an  upward  direction  since  then.     However,  it  has 


12  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [ClKC.  18 

not  yet  reached  the  level  that  it  occupied  prior  to  the  war.  This 
upward  trend  in  purchasing  power  was  largely  a  result  of  the  decline 
in  the  supplies  of  almonds  available  for  consumption  in  this  country. 
Although  there  was  a  substantial  increase  in  California  production 
during  this  period  it  was  not  sufficient  to  offset  the  large  decrease  in 
imports. 

Two  factors  were  mainly  responsible  for  the  recent  decline  in 
almond  imports:  (1)  increase  in  the  tariff*,  and  (2)  recovery  of 
European  markets.  However,  a  considerable  part  of  the  effect  of  these 
two  factors  has  by  this  time  already  occurred  so  that  no  further 
substantial  decline  in  imports  is  likely  to  take  place.  We  cannot, 
therefore,  expect  the  supplies  of  almonds  in  the  United  States  to  go 
much  lower.  Nor  can  we  expect  prices  to  go  much  higher.  Unless 
we  should  greatly  increase  our  plantings,  however,  the  present  favor- 
able price  position  can  probably  be  maintained. 

The  most  serious  situation  in  the  almond  industry  in  this  state  at 
the  present  time  is  the  low"  yield  per  acre.  Many  orchards  yield  so 
little  on  the  average  that  they  could  scarcely  make  a  profit  if  prices 
were  twice  as  high.  Some  of  them  are  so  located  that  they  will  con- 
tinue to  be  unprofitable  for  the  remainder  of  their  life.  On  the  other 
hand,  well  managed  almond  orchards  in  favorable  locations  have  every 
prospect  of  returning  their  owners  satisfactory  profits  during  the 
coming  years. 

Summary. — The  past  decade  has  witnessed  great  changes  in  Cali- 
fornia agriculture.  Among  the  more  important  of  these  changes  has 
been  a  phenominal  expansion  in  the  acreage  and  production  of  our 
fruit  crops.  The  relatively  high  prices  of  fruit  were  the  chief  cause 
for  this  expansion.  Growers  followed  a  logical  course  of  action  in 
turning  from  the  production  of  low-priced  staple  crops  to  high-priced 
fruit  crops,  but  unfortunately  Wiqj  went  too  fast  and  too  far.  As  a 
result  the  production  of  many  of  our  fruits  is  now  in  excess  of  demand 
at  profitable  prices.  On  the  other  hand,  a  few  of  our  fruits  are  still 
in  a  favorable  price  position,  but  they  are  not  likely  to  retain  their 
positions  if  production  is  greatly  increased.  It  would  seem,  there- 
fore, that  now  is  not  the  time  to  further  expand  our  frui-t  acreage. 

From  an  industry  point  of  view  it  is  clear  that  we  are  faced  with 
two  alternatives,  the  expansion  of  market  outlets  which  has  promising 
possibilities,  or  the  curtailment  of  production.  The  latter  would 
undoubtedly  result  in  a  larger  total  gross  return  for  the  croj:),  but  it 
will  be  difficult  and  costly  to  accomplish. 


1928]  rYUE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  13 

From  the  point  of  view  of  the  individuals  engaged  in  fruit  ])roduc- 
tion  it  is  evident  that  a  period  of  more  intensive  competition  is  here. 
The  area  of  potential  fruit  land  in  this  state  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
country  is  so  great  that  continued  heavy  supplies  of  fruit  on  the 
markets  and  competition  among  the  various  fruits  may  be  expected. 

However,  we  have  not  lost  our  optimism  toward  the  fruit  industry. 
Growers  who  have  good  orchards  should  hold  on  to  them,  provided 
they  know  their  business,  are  favorably  situated  with  regard  to 
handling  and  marketing  and  are  willing  to  adopt  every  reasonable 
method  to  hold  down  production  costs  and  still  have  high  yields  and 
good  quality.  Such  growers  will  undoubtedly  weather  the  storm. 
But  for  the  city  speculator,  the  unskilled,  the  incompetent  and  the 
unfit  no  hope  is  offered.  The  sooner  they  realize  their  true  position 
and  make  a  change  in  their  farming  programs  the  less  they  will 
stand  to  lose. 

THE    LIVESTOCK   SITUATION 

The  livestock  situation  in  this  state  differs  from  the  horticultural 
in  two  ways  which  should  be  kept  in  mind  by  all  who  are  seriously 
interested  in  any  of  the  animal  industries.  First,  with  the  exception 
of  eggs  and  perhaps  lamb,  California  is  an  importer  rather  than  an 
exporter  of  livestock  and  livestock 'products.  The  excess  of  imports 
over  exports  is  an  advantage  to  local  producers  which  should  not  be 
lost  to  view.  Second,  increases  or  decreases  of  the  animal  population 
in  California  do  not  greatly  affect  the  total  numbers  of  livestock  in 
the  nation  as  a  whole.  In  analyzing  the  livestock  industries,  there- 
fore, it  is  impossible  to  separate  the  California  situation  from  that  in 
the  United  States,  and  in  most  instances  the  world  situation  cannot 
be  ignored. 

TABLE  5 

Percentage  Change  in  Numbers   of  Live,stock  in   the  United   States   and 
California  Between  1920  and  1928. 

United  States  California 

Per  cent  Per  cent 

All  cattle  —  16.5                           —    0.7 

Milk   cows    +    2.4                            +  19.9 

Sheep    +  27.1                            +  47.0 

Swine    —      .6                            —  32.5 

Horses    —26.4                            —27.9 

Chickens    +  13.8  (1925)              +  22.6    (1925) 

It  was  pointed  out  in  the  previous  section  that  the  acreage  of 
practically  all  of  the  fruits  in  California  has  been  greatly  expanded 


14  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [CiRC.  18 

since  the  war.  Table  5  shows  the  clian^es  in  the  numbers  of  livestock 
in  the  United  States  and  Calif oi-nia  between  19l!()  and  192S.  In  the 
United  States  all  cattle  have  decreased  while  milk  cows  have  increased 
but  slightly.  Sheep  have  had  a  large  increase  and  swine  are  about 
on  the  same  levels  as  they  w^ere  in  1920.  In  California  there  were 
material  increases  in  milk  cows,  sheep  and  chickens  while  the  total 
number  of  cattle,  swine  and  horses  decreased. 

TABLE  6 

Percentage  of  Change  in  Prices  of  Animal  Husbandry  Products  in 
California  Between   1921-1922,   1926-1927 

Per  cent 

Beef  Cattle  +  12.6 

Veal   calves +  16.4 

Milk   cows +    1.8 

Butter  +    8.1 

Eggs  — 11.3 

Hogs  '+  25.1 

Lambs    +  33.6 

Horses    — 11.7 

Generally  speaking,  the  prices  of  livestock  and  livestock  products 
with  the  exception  of  eggs  have  been  rising  since  1921  (table  6).  This 
statement  should  not  be  interpreted  to  mean  that  there  is  need  for  a 
wholesale  increase  in  the  i)roduction  of  dairy  i)roducts,  beef,  sheep 
and  swine — nor  does  it  mean  that  there  should  be  a  decrease  in  the 
number  of  poultry  in  the  state.  There  perhaps  are  places  in  which 
adjustments  might  take  place.  Let  us  examine  our  animal  industries 
more  in  detail  so  that  w^e  may  see  actual  conditions  more  clearly. 

The  Dairy  Indtistry. — The  dairy  industry  is  in  a  fairly  strong  posi- 
tion as  compared  with  many  of  the  agricultural  crops  of  this  section. 
The  purchasing  powder  of  butter  in  the  United  States  and  in  California 
in  1927  was  again  up  to  the  prewar  level  (fig.  5).  Most  of  the  other 
agricultural  products  are  still  substantially  below  their  pre-war  levels. 
The  present  tendency  in  the  dairy  industry  seems  to  be  toward  a 
stabilization  of  values  such  as  existed  between  1910  and  1915.  This 
is  indeed  a  healthy  condition,  because  it  is  much  better  to  have  stable 
])rices  than  to  have  periods  of  very  high  and  very  low  prices.  Further- 
more, there  appear  to  be  no  forces  yet  apparent  which  are  likely  to 
cause  a  permanent  change  in  this  situation,  unless  it  is  through 
influences  outside  of  the  United  States.  First,  however,  let  us  con- 
sider the  factors  that  are  responsible  for  the  present  strong  posi- 
tion of  the  dau-y  industry,  ])articularly  as  they  apply  in  this  state. 


1928] 


THE   AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 


15 


(1)  There  has  been  but  a  small  increase  in  the  number  of  milk  cows 
in  the  United  States  during  recent  years.  Between  1920  and  1928 
the  increase  was  2.4  per  cent,  whereas  the  increase  in  human  popula- 
tion was  over  12  per  cent.  Again,  the  increase  in  the  number  of  heifer 
calves  saved  for  milk  in  1927  over  1926  is  probably  only  sufficient  to 
cause  an  increase  of  1  or  2  per  cent  in  the  number  of  mjlk  cows  in  1930. 


Relative  Price         oSooSSSSS 
Parohaslng  Power     S«3So>St??oo 


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Fig.  5. — Relative  prices  and  purchasing  power  of  butter  at  San  Francisco, 

1910-1927. 


(2)  Only  a  small  i^roportion  of  the  dairy  cows  in  the  United 
States  are  in  California.  On  January  1,  1928,  there  were  approxi- 
mately 21,948,000  dairy  cows  in  this  country,  of  which  only  602,000 
or  2.7  per  cent  are  in  this  state.  It  is  evident  therefore  that  although 
the  number  of  dairy  cows  in  California  increased  by  20  per  cent 
during  the  past  eight  years,  this  increase  has  added  less  than  one-half 
of  1  per  cent  to  the  total  number  in  the  United  States. 

(3)  There  has  been  a  general  tendency  towards  the  increased 
utilization  of  dairy  products  in  higher  valued  forms  such  as  whole 
milk,  table  cream  and  ice  cream.  This  means  that  the  dairy  sections 
near  the  large  cities  are  disposing  of  an  increasing  proportion  of  their 
supplies  in  fluid  form,  which  gives  the  outlying  districts  considerable 
additional  outlets  for  butter,  cheese,  etc. 

Every  year  many  dairy  herds  in  this  state  require  large  numbers 
of  replacements  and  additions,  for  its  herds.  In  order  to  secure  the 
necessary  number  of  cattle  it  has  been  necessary  to  go  outside  the 
state.     For  example,  last  year  the  Los  Angeles  area  purchased  20,000 


16  CALIFORNIA   AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [ClRC.  18 

COWS  for  replacement  purposes  costing;  $2,500,000.  Two-thirds  of  this 
number,  costing'  upwards  of  $1,500,000  were  purchased  outside  the 
state.  There  seems  to  be,  therefore,  a  definite  need  for  the  production 
of  high  producing-,  disease-free  dairy  cattle  in  the  sections  of  the  state 
which  have  an  abundance  of  feed. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  one  unfaA'orable  factor  which  should 
be  mentioned ;  namel}^  the  increasing  competition  of  foreign  countries. 
Production  and  prices  of  dairy  products  in  foreign  countries  tend  to 
affect  the  price  level  to  which  our  domestic  prices  can  rise.  Now 
foreign  dairy  production  has  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  war 
and  continues  to  increase.  It  is  not  likely  that  foreign  markets  can 
absorb  any  greatly  increased  supply  over  what  they  received  in  1927. 
With  a  large  surplus  production  in  countries  such  as  Denmark,  New 
Zealand  and  Australia,  foreign  market  prices  have  been  lowered  and 
shipments  have  increased  to  this  country. 

It  should  be  recognized,  of  course,  that  a  too  rapid  increase  in  dairy 
herds  in  this  country  will  result  in  over-production  and  depressed 
prices.  Since  the  trade  of  the  United  States  in  dairy  products  is  some- 
what delicately  balanced  as  between  imports  and  exports,  expansion 
of  production  should  take  place  only  at  about  the  rate  of  increase  in 
the  demand  for  dairy  products  in  the  United  States. 

Beef  Cattle. — Beef  cattle  are  also  in  a  strong  position  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  Figure  6  shows  the  purchasing  power  of  beef  cattle  in  the 
United  States  and  California  for  the  past  58  years.  During  this 
period  the  beef  industry  has  experienced  three  distinct  price  cycles. 
At  the  present  time  we  appear  to  be  on  the  up-grade  of  a  fourth  cycle. 
The  number  of  cattle  other  than  dairy  cattle  in  the  United  States  the 
first  of  this  year  was  the  smallest  since  1912  and  the  second  smallest 
since  1898 ;  both  of  these  years  representing  low  points  in  the  cattle 
production  cycle.  Conditions  are  similar  in  many  respects  to  those 
existing  at  the  beginning  of  1913.  It  is  expected  therefore  that  from 
now  on  the  trend  of  production  will  be  gradually  upward  for  several 
years  to  come.  The  relatively  small  numbers  of  cattle  in  the  country 
at  present  together  with  the  relatively  high  prices  which  have  pre- 
vailed for  several  months  past,  are  expected  to  provide  a  strong  incen- 
tive for  cattlemen  to  re-stock  farms  and  ranges  and  increase  their 
herds.  In  order  to  take  advantage  of  fairly  high  levels  of  prices,  plans 
should  be  made  to  market  contemplated  increases  within  the  next 
three  years.  However,  do  not  expect  that  present  prices  will  continue 
indefinitely.  A  radical  increase  would  undoubtedly  bring  prices  again 
to  the  unprofitable  levels  prevailing  between  1920  and  1926.     With 


1928] 


THE   AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 


17 


only  a  moderate  increase,  however,  it  is  probable  that  they  can  be 
sold  at  profitable  prices.  The  present  is  a  favorable  one  to  increase 
the  quality  of  our  beef  cattle  by  better  breeding. 

With  the  more  strict  grading^  in  effect  with  beef  cattle  and  the 
increasing  interest  in  feeding,  the  possibility  of  finishing  more  beef 
presents  itself.  If  this  can  be  done  some  of  the  surplus  could  be 
removed  from  the  grass  cattle  season. 

The  California  cattlemen  might  well  take  advantage  of  the  high 
prices  now  prevailing  to  wipe  out  debts  incurred  during  the  lean 
years  and  put  their  business  on  a  safe  and  sound  basis  rather  than 
to  use  returns  to  increase  inventories  greatly. 


^      California 

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United  States 

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Fig.  6. — Purchasing  power  of  beef  cattle,  United  States  and  California, 

1870-1928. 


Swine. — The  swine  industry  is  passing  through  the  low  period  of 
a  hog  price  cycle  as  a  result  of  expansion  in  production  stimulated 
by  the  high  hog  prices  and  the  favorable  relation  between  corn  and 
hog  prices  prevailing  in  1925  and  1926 ;  also  by  the  sudden  official 
regulations  in  the  British  Isles  preventing  importation  of  fresh  meats 
from  Continental  Europe,  due  to  the  existence  there  of  foot  and 
mouth  disease.  This  forced  Denmark,  a  large  exporter  of  fresh  pork, 
to  suddenly  change  its  method  and  ship  cured  products  to  Britain, 
where  they  came  into  competition  with  our  cured  pork  products,  and 
this  reacted  unfavorably  on  price  levels.  It  is  not  likely  that  hog 
prices  will  go  much  lower  and  there  will  probably  be  a  substantial 
recovery  within  the  next  two  years. 

The  number  of  cars  of  live  hogs  being  imported  into  the  state  in 
order  to  supply  the  demands  for  pork  and  pork  products  is  remark- 
able.    However,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  anyone  should  be 


18 


CALIB^ORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE 


[Cmc.  18 


urged  to  start  a  large  scale  swine  enterprise — depending  almost 
entirely  on  purchased  or  home-grown  barley.  Barley  is  an  excellent 
feed  but  fluctuations  in  price  have  been  such  that  it  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  make  plans  from  year  to  year  (see  fig.  7).  There  are 
sections  in  California  in  which  there  could  be  a  considerable  increase 
in  the  number  of  swine  and  these  could  be  fed  on  waste  products 
of  various  agricultural  enterprises.  Such  feeds  as  cull  fruits,  dairy 
by-products,  etc.,  might  enable  hundreds  of  farmers  to  keep  one  or 
two  brood  sows,  thus  bringing  in  a  considerable  income  from  waste 
and  by-products  and  keeping  considerable  sums  of  money  at  home 
which  now  find  their  way  outside  the  state. 


Fig.  7.— Barley-hog  ratio,  California,  1910-1927.      (Number  of  bushels  of 
barley  equal  in  value  to  100  pounds  of  pork.) 


If  you  are  going  to  raise  hogs,  the  present  is  the  time  to  plan  for  it. 
Prolific  sows  should  be  kept  and  more  pigs  i)er  litter  saved.  The 
])rospective  and  present  hog  ])roducer  shoidd  increase  his  own  pro- 
duction by  introducing  sanitary  measures  which  wdll  serve  to  keep 
disease  and  parasites  in  check. 

Sheep  and  Wool. — Sheep  ])rices  have  been  on  the  upgrade  for  six 
or  seven  years  (fig.  8),  and  it  is  most  difficult  to  see  how  this  move- 
ment can  continue  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  number  of  sheep  in 
the  United  States  on  January  1,  1928,  was  the  largest  in  16  years. 
Consumer  demand  for  lamb  is  not  likely  to  improve  sufficiently  to 
off-set  the  prospective  increase  in  production.  On  the  other  hand, 
wool   stocks   in   this  country   are   light   and   with   a  strong   foreign 


1928] 


THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA 


19 


demand,  duo  to  drought  in  Australia,  reducing  exports  from  that 
country  100,000,000  pounds,  the  outlook  for  wool  appears  favorable. 

Numbers  of  sheep  have  increased  in  this  state  at  a  rapid  rate. 
Further  g-eneral  increases  are  not  recommended.  Such  increases  as 
appear  to  be  feasible  should  be  made  with  caution.  A  dry  year  in 
this  state  may  spell  trouble  for  many. 

As  a  permanent  proposition,  there  is  apparently  a  place  for  more 
sheep  on  some  farms — especially  those  which  have  some  grazing  land 
available.  Besides  acting  as  agents  for  the  clearing-  of  weeds  from 
ditches,  waste  places,  etc.,  small  flocks  are  a  considerable  source  of 
income  in  May  or  June — often  at  a  time  Avhen  most  convenient. 


100 


i 

California 

A. 

y-            ^7^  . 

^      /^     ^ 

If 

--P^ 

-sJ' 

Utalted   States 

A^ 

'J 

1870  1880  1890  1900  1910  1920         IS 

Fig.  8. — Purchasing  power  of  sheep,  United  States  and  California,  1870-1928. 


We  are  in  a  favorable  position  on  account  of  climatic  conditions 
for  early  lambing-.  This  allows  our  lambs  to  reach  the  Chicago  market 
when  prices  are  hi^h  and  before  competition  from  eastern  lambs  is 
possible.  With  the  rapid  increase  in  production  the  greatest  attention 
should  be  paid  by  the  producer  to  the  quality  of  lamb  and  in  view  of 
the  present  hig-h  costs  of  labor  and  feed,  efficiency  should  be  stressed. 

Poultry. — Poultry  raising  has  suifered  from  a  too  rapid  expansion 
in  the  United  States  and  in  California.  Egg  and  feed  prices  were 
such  during  the  year  1927  that  many  flocks  were  sold.  Indications 
point  to  an  up-swing  in  the  price  in  the  next  two  or  three  years. 
Those  with  poultry  flocks  who  have  been  weathering  the  storm  should 
be  urged  to  produce  efficiently — if  profits  are  being  made  by  such 
people  under  present  conditions  and  prices,  a  better  day  is  in  store 
for  them.  For  those  who  wish  to  enter  the  poultry  business  per- 
manently the  present  is  an  excellent  time  as  prices  of  inventories 
are  low. 


20  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [CiRC.  18 

Summary. —  (1)  California  should  expand  its  dairy  industry  only 
at  the  rate  at  which  dairy  products  are  demanded.  The  industry  has 
made  progress  along  conservative  lines  and  should  continue  in  that 
direction.  There  is  a  demand  for  disease-free,  high  producing  dairy 
cattle  in  this  state  and  this  need  should  be  filled.  In  view  of  the 
relatively  high  beef  prices  prevailing,  dairymen  should  take  advan- 
tage of  the  situation  in  order  to  dispose  of  their  cull  cows. 

(2)  Beef  cattle  values  are  relatively  high  and  should  continue  on 
relatively  high  levels  for  the  next  three  years  at  least.  The  extension 
of  cattle  feeding  activities  might  be  investigated  as  more  finishing 
would  tend  to  remove  some  surplus  from  the  grass  cattle  section. 

(3)  In  general,  owners  of  large  bands  of  sheep  are  cautioned 
against  further  expansion,  but  certain  orchardists  and  some  other 
farmers  might  well  consider  the  keeping  of  a  few  sheep. 

(4)  For  those  contemplating  the  keeping  of  a  few^  brood  sows 
whether  either  cull  fruits  or  dairy  b^^-products  are  available,  the 
present  is  an  excellent  time  to  make  plans  for  a  start. 

(5)  The  poultry  industry  has  suffered  from  "growing  pains"  and 
should  rest  for  a  while.  Prices  of  eggs  reached  the  bottom  in  1927 
and  indications  point  to  a  gradual  improvement  during  the  next  two 
years  so  that  the  efficient  producers  in  the  business  should  see  better 
times  ahead. 

REMEDIES    AND    ADJUSTMENTS 

The  two  previous  sections  have  analyzed  the  fruit  and  livestock 
situations  and  the  probable  outlook  for  the  immediate  future.  The 
facts  indicate  that  the  agricultural  industries  of  the  state  were  thrown 
out  of  balance  by  developments  following  the  World  War.  Our  fruit 
crops  have  apparently  generally  been  overplanted,  and  as  a  result 
are  now  in  an  unfavorable  position.  On  the  other  hand  some  of  our 
important  livestock  enterprises  are  in  a  relatively  favorable  position. 
The  problem  which  now  faces  us,  individually  and  collectively,  is  to  so 
readjust  our  agricultural  industries  as  to  bring  about  a  better  balance. 

There  is  no  simple  solution,  no  one  simple  and  effective  remedy  to 
be  applied.  We  can,  however,  suggest  some  ways  in  which  the  general 
farming  situation  may  be  bettered.  There  appear  to  be  two  distinct 
lines  of  attack,  (1)  through  organized  effort  and  (2)  through  indi- 
vidual effort.  By  organized  effort  we  mean  cooperative  or  group 
activities  centered  on  problems  which  can  only  progress  through  the 
coordinated  team-work  of  a  whole  community  or  an  industry.  By 
individual  effort  we  refer  to  those  means  whereby  the  farmer  himself 
may  improve  his  condition  without  the  aid  or  support  of  his  neighbors. 


1928]  THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  21 

Whether  we  are  to  lean  upon  organized  (community)  effort  or 
stress  what  the  individual  can  do,  we  start  with  the  premise  that  farm- 
ing is  a  business.  This  means  that  it  is  subject  to  the  same  test  as  any 
business — namely,  profits  stated  in  terms  of  dollars  and  cents.  It  is 
the  business  farmer's  task  to  use  his  resources  for  profit-making.  His 
resources  consist  of  land,  its  improvements  and  equipment;  labor — 
that  of  himself,  his  family,  and  hired ;  capital — owned  or  borrowed ; 
and  management — that  is,  brains.  Successful  farming  today  is  more 
a  test  of  one's  knowledge,  intelligence,  and  administrative  ability 
than  of  mere  chores  and  muscle.  The  income,  if  it  is  to  meet  the 
business  test,  must  not  only  pay  the  expenses  of  the  farm,  e.g.,  cash 
outlays  for  seed,  feed,  taxes,  labor,  etc.,  and  depreciation  (to  offset 
wear  and  tear),  but  also  a  sum  sufficient  to  pay  for  the  operator's 
time,  to  pay  a  fair  rate  of  interest  for  use  of  capital,  and  to  pay  a 
reasonable  profit.  Any  farm  business  which  does  not  meet  these 
obligations  may  be  satisfactory  to  the  individual,  but  it  fails  to  meet 
the  business  test. 

The  farmer  who  raises  products  primarily  for  his  own  use  is  not 
greatly  concerned  Avith  either  markets  or  profits,  because  he  does  not 
sell  what  he  raises.  There  are  undoubtedly  many  farmers  in  Cali- 
fornia who  would  find  it  both  possible  and  profitable  to  raise  more  of 
the  products  required  for  consumption  on  the  farm,  such  as  dairy  and 
poultry  products  and  vegetables,  and  doing  this  would  materially 
improve  their  financial  situation.  In  the  main,  however,  our  agricul- 
ture is  based  on  producing  food  and  raw  materials  for  market,  making 
it  necessary  to  apply  to  farming  ordinary  business  principles. 

Improvement  Through  Organized  Effort. — Community  efforts 
toward  improvement  in  agriculture  are  today  largely  centered  on 
means  of  improving  and  extending  the  markets  for  California 
products.  This  is  slow  work,  but  ultimate  success  is  reasonably  sure. 
The  markets  of  the  Orient  and  South  America  are  more  easily  access- 
ible today  than  the  Eastern  markets  were  to  our  fathers  a  generation 
ago.  Success  in  establishing  these  markets,  however,  demands  well 
planned,  consistent  and  continuous  work  by  cooperative  efforts.  No 
individual  farmer  or  small  group  of  farmers  can  finance  the  adver- 
tising, demonstration,  and  other  pioneer  work  necessary  to  estab- 
lish such  over-seas  markets.  Community  or  industry  cooperative 
organizations  are  necessary. 

In  all  these  efforts  the  necessity  for  honest  grading,  good  pack  and 
strictly  enforced  standards  are  obvious.  The  use  of  trademarks  on 
quality  goods  usually  results  in  increased  returns.     All  these  sugges- 


22  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [ClRC.  18 

tions  call  for  quality  in  production  rather  than  quantity,  and  to  the 
maintenance  of  uniform  and  honest  standards.  To  secure  these  it  is 
necessary  to  have  whole-hearted  cooperation  between  all  the  farmers 
in  the  pool  or  community. 

Cooperative  organizations  are  already  in  existence,  and  others  are 
being  formed.  It  is  possible  that  these  may  follow  the  examples  of 
chain  stores  and  branch  banking  enterprises  and  link  themselves  into 
super-cooperatives  of  sufficient  strength  to  handle  the  work  of  market 
extensions  abroad.  Undertakings  of  this  magnitude  require  the  most 
capable  direction.  The  cooperatives  or  corporations  need  the  service 
of  the  very  best  men  available,  men  who  by  training  and  experience 
are  peculiarly  fitted  to  visualize  and  direct  this  difficult  work.  And 
when  such  men  are  obtained,  they  should  be  adequately  paid  and 
loyally  supported  so  they  can  give  their  full  attention  to  the  work 
in  hand. 

Improvement  Through  Individual  Effort. — There  are  many  sepa- 
rate factors  to  take  up  when  we  consider  the  best  use  of  the  farmer's 
land,  operating  capital,  and  time.  Only  the  more  important  can 
be  referred  to  here.  These  are:  (a)  the  net  income;  (b)  the  size  of 
the  farm;  (c)  the  amount  of  labor  required  in  connection  with  each 
farm  product. 

When  a  farmer's  goal  is  to  increase  his  net  income  he  faces  the 
job  of  finding  out  what  are  the  factors  that  influence  his  net  income. 
Net  income  is  the  sum  remaining  to  pay  a  farmer  for  his  work,  for 
use  of  his  capital,  and  to  give  him  possible  profits.  It  is  that  sum 
which  can  be  applied  to  payments  of  interest  and  installments  upon 
loans.  Net  income  is  determined  by  the  three  factors  of  (a)  yield, 
(h)  price,  and  (c)  expense  of  doing  business.  These  can  be  resolved 
into  a  simple  formula:  yield  times  market  price  (residting  in  Gross 
Income)  less  expenses  equals  net  income. 

The  first  requisite  is  to  find  out  just  what  the  farm  is  doing  and 
what  factors  are  affecting  the  yield,  the  value,  or  the  expense.  This 
means  keeping  full  records  of  all  farm  operations,  of  keeping  books 
which  will  show  the  yields,  costs  and  returns  on  all  farm  enterprise. 
Bookkeeping  is  not  a  direct  way  of  making  money,  but  does  so 
indirectly,  by  showing  what  enterprises  are  profitable  and  what  are 
not.  Cow  testing  is  but  a  form  of  record  keeping.  The  sale  of 
unprofitable  ''boarder"  cows  has  decreased  cost  and  increased  returns 
for  many  dairymen.  Poultrymen  who  grade  and  cull  their  flocks  tend 
to  obtain  the  best  returns  per  hen  and  to  make  the  biggest  profits. 
One  of  our  most  successful  orange  growers  has  determined  the  indi- 


1928]  THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  28 

vidua!  production  of  every  tree  in  his  very  extensive  groves,  and  has 
been  able  to  determine  whether  low  yielding  blocks  or  individual 
trees  could  be  made  profitable  by  fertilization  or  special  treatment, 
or  whether  they  should  be  ])ulled  out  and  replaced. 

Through  the  farm  advisor's  office  one  can  obtain  advice  regarding 
bookkeeping  systems  and  methods  suitable  for  farming  operations, 
and  we  urge  every  farmer  to  institute  at  once  an  accounting  system 
that  will  show  his  costs  and  give  him  a  real  knowledge  of  his  opera- 
tions. When  the  farmer  knows  the  costs  of  crop  production  and  farm 
operations,  he  is  in  a  strong  position  to  plan  for  improvement. 

There  is  a  close  relationship  between  the  size  of  business  and 
required  net  income.  California  farms  have  tended  to  become  rather 
small  in  acreage,  too  small  in  man}^  cases  to  provide  an  income  needed 
to  care  for  a  family  and  to  meet  business  tests.  For  instance,  the  1920 
census  showed  that  29  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  farms  in  Cali- 
fornia were  under  20  acres  in  size,  and  56  per  cent  under  50  acres. 
This  was  an  increase  from  49  per  cent  under  50  acres  when  the  census 
was  taken  ten  years  previous  (in  1910). 

One  of  the  troubles  with  agriculture  today  is  that  businesses  are 
too  small  in  many  instances  to  meet  the  demands  made  upon  them 
when  prices  drop  or  expenses  continue  at  high  levels.  This  is  what 
has  actually  happened  during  the  past  six  or  seven  years. 

Changes  in  acreage,  to  fit  changing  conditions,  are  going  on.  In 
one  locality,  for  instance,  the  original  subdivision  into  forty  acres 
has  been  found  inefficient.  As  a  result,  the  trend  is  toward  either 
30  or  80  acres.  It  has  been  found  that  a  family  can  handle  30  acres 
with  but  little  hiring  of  additional  help ;  while  if  the  hiring  of  help  is 
to  pay,  the  size  of  the  business  must  be  greater  than  40  acres;  hence, 
the  move  toward  80-acre  units. 

There  may  be  a  need  these  days  for  a  readjustment  in  the  sizes  of 
acreages.  Possibly  some  will  move  off,  selling  their  holdings  to  their 
neighbors.     It  is  not  too  much  to  expect. 

One  of  the  tasks  facing  every  farmer  is  to  so  use  his  labor  that  he 
will  be  employed  at  some  profifahle  job  for  as  much  of  the  year  as  he 
can  arrange  it. 

Much  of  our  California  farm  industry  is  based  on  specialized 
effort,  with  few  crops  per  farm.  This  has  resulted  in  an  unbalanced 
labor  condition  and  a  serious  waste  of  the  farmer's  time.  Professor 
R.  L.  Adams  has, worked  out  the  days  of  man  labor  required  to  care 
for  ten  acres  of  apricots,  peaches,  prunes  or  table  grapes  and  the  num- 
ber of  days  of  this  labor  that  the  owner  himself  can  put  in    (see 


24 


CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE 


[CiRC.  18 


table  7).  Under  these  conditions  if  we  consider  that  there  are  300 
available  work  days  in  a  year,  the  farmer  will  be  profitably  employed 
only  from  29  per  cent  to  41  per  cent  of  his  time. 


TABLE  7 

Total  Man  Labor  Amount  Operator's 
Required  Can  Do 

Crop  10  Acres  No.  of  Days 

Peaches   254  days  100 

Apricots    208    ''  90 

Prunes   200    ''  123 

Table  Grapes  119    ''  88 


Efficient  Use 

of 

Operator's  Time 

33%% 

30 

41 

29 

It  is  not  logical  to  expect  that  a  farmer  who  can  be  profitably 
employed  only  one-third  of  his  time  can  secure  results  equal  to  those 
obtained  by  one  who  puts  in  full  time  throughout  the  year. 

The  previous  section  has  suggested  the  possibility  of  profit  with 
hogs,  poultry,  sheep  or  cattle,  under  suitable  conditions.  Table  8 
shows  the  more  effective  use  of  the  farmer's  time  if  ten  dairy  cows 
and  500  hens  are  added  to  the  fruit  farming  operations. 


TABLE  8 

Percentage  Use  of  Total  Time  (e.g.  300  days) 
Business  Fruit  Alone  Fruit  &  Livestock 

Peaches   331/3%  94% 

Apricots   30  91 

Primes     41  102  (May  require  more  hired 

m    1  T     /-<  c,(\  nr\  help    in    connection    with 

Table  Grapes  29  90  fruit;    longer    hours;    or 

more   days   than   300   per 
year.) 

The  farmer's  time  then  becomes  fully  occupied  in  productive 
effort.  Of  course,  this  can  only  be  done  Avhen  cattle  feed  is  obtain- 
able economically,  when  the  necessary  capital  is  available,  and  when 
the  farmer  is  by  temperament  and  experience  capable  of  successfully 
handling  the  stock.  It  may  not  be  attractive,  but  it  is  decidedly 
suggestive. 

Diversification  in  the  industries  on  the  farms  of  the  East  has  been 
established  through  years  of  experience  and  travail.  The  rotation  of 
corn-oats-wheat-grass,  with  some  cows,  pigs  and  chickens,  keeps  the 
farmer  busy  throughout  the  year.  Our  California  farm  enterprises, 
with  more  crops  to  choose  from  and  a  longer  growing  season,  are  in 


1928]  THE    AGRKUJLTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  25 

position  to  select  suitable  crop  combinations  that  will  supply  con- 
tinuous profitable  employment  and  give  maximum  returns  without 
undue  drudgery.  The  farmer  should  expect  to  keep  at  work  if  he 
expects  continuous  pay  or  returns. 

By  use  of  a  variety  of  fruits  (in  place  of  the  one-crop  plan  shown 
in  the  table)  by  introduction  of  truck  crops,  and  by  the  use  of  field 
crops,  there  are  combinations  which  will  produce  the  same  results  as 
are  here  shown  with  animals. 

Increasing  yields  is  not  desirable  from  the  marketing  standpoint, 
but  if  the  increased  yield  can  be  obtained  at  a  lowered  cost  per  unit, 
it  can  be  defended  against  any  objector.  Careful  seed  selection,  well 
considered  fertilization,  better  tillage  or  more  consistent  irrigation 
may  result  in  lowered  cost  of  production,  as  well  as  in  increased 
yields.    Lower  prices  can  be  endured  if  the  net  returns  are  increased. 

Better  farming  practices  will  give  higher  quality,  and  better 
quality  usually  means  better  prices  or  lower  cost  of  selling,  with 
larger  net  returns.  At  this  time  an  endeavor  for  quality  of  produc- 
tion seems  much  more  promising  than  for  mere  quantity.  Higher 
prices  may  be  not  only  due  to  quality  but  also  to  care  and  skill  in 
picking,  packing  and  handling  the  crop  on  its  way  to  the  markets. 
These  efforts  increase  the  gross  return,  and,  indirectly,  the  net  return. 

Conscientious  effort  can  well  be  directed  to  the  reduction  of 
expenses  of  operation  with  a  direct  increase  in  the  net  income.  We 
have  already  indicated  means  of  reducing  the  per  unit  cost  of  pro- 
duction, by  making  the  cow,  or  tree,  or  hen,  more  effective,  and  by 
eliminating  the  lazy  or  idle  units.  There  are  so  many  ways  in  which 
waste  and  losses  can  occur  on  any  farm  that  a  material  increase  in  net 
income  may  be  secured  by  a  study  aimed  at  eliminating  readily 
preventable  wastes.  A  further  suggestion  is  that  more  of  the  vege- 
tables, meats,  milk,  eggs  consumed  by  the  farm  family  may  be 
produced  on  the  farm. 

We  desire  to  reiterate  our  belief  that  farming  must  be  considered 
as  a  business,  subject  to  the  same  tests  as  any  business,  namely,  profits 
stated  in  terms  of  dollars  and  cents.  Farming  is  a  business  and  as 
such  ought  to  pay  as  any  other  business  is  expected  to  pay. 

Tliere  is  no  simple  way  to  bring  about  this  desirable  condition 
and  to  solve  the  farm  i)roblem  of  today.  It  must  be  worked  out  by 
])ainstaking  effort.  AVe  have  endeaA'ored  to  indicate  certain  ways  in 
which  community  effort  may  aid  and  other  ways  that  must  be  applied 
individually  by  each  farmer. 


26  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [CiRC.  18 


LOCAL  PROGRESS 

The  question  now  is,  what  are  you  ^oing-  to  do  to  help  malve 
farming  pay  better? 

It  has  been  ]:)ointed  out  that  some  of  the  problems  can  probably 
not  be  solved.  Some  men  are  located  on  bad  land  on  Avhich  the  yields 
are  always  low.  Such  land  never  makes  a  ])rofit  except  in  a  year  of 
high  prices.  Men  thereon  are  out  of  luck.  We  know  no  cheap  way 
by  which  bad  land  can  be  made  into  good  land.  Farmers  on  such 
land  will  probably  always  be  the  poor  people  of  the  locality. 

Some  men  have  too  little  land ;  small  tracts  have  been  taken  up, 
and  except  in  a  time  of  very  high  prices,  or  on  those  few  acreages 
where  very  high  yields  can  be  made,  there  isn't  enough  gross  income, 
let  alone  net  income,  to  make  a  good  living  for  a  family.  These  men 
are  under-capitalized.  They  haven 't  a  big  enough  business.  In  some 
cases  about  the  only  thing  that  can  be  done  is  to  unite  two  or  more 
little  farms  into  one  larger  unit.  Somebody  may  have  to  move  off 
and  go  to  town,  take  a  job  and  let  the  remaining  farmers  farm  the 
land. 

The  trouble  with  other  farmers  is  that  their  expenses  are  too  high. 
They  produce  at  too  high  costs.  Everything  is  expensively  done 
instead  of  economically.  These  farms  need  to  be  studied  to  see  how 
the  leaks  can  be  stopped,  how  labor  can  be  used  to  better  advantage 
and  where  improved  methods  may  be  used. 

On  many  farms  the  yields  per  acre  are  low  because  the  men  don't 
use  the  best  methods.  This  makes  the  cost  per  ton  high.  Many  of, 
our  farmers  can  get  larger  returns  by  increasing  the  yield  per  acre. 
One  of  the  ways  to  cut  down  the  cost  is  to  get  larger  returns  per  acre ; 
more  tons  of  peaches,  more  pounds  of  butterf  at  per  cow,  more  dozens 
of  eggs  per  hen. 

On  some  farms  the  quality  is  low ;  everything  that  is  produced  is 
second  rate.  In  general,  California  farmers  cannot  afford  to  produce 
second  rate  products.  IVIost  of  our  markets  are  three  thousand  or  more 
miles  away.  We  have  to  pay  the  same  freight  whether  the  quality 
is  good  or  whether  it  is  poor.  We  cannot  afford  to  ship  stuff  across 
the  continent  unless  it  is  the  best  that  can  be  grown. 

In  many  cases  our  marketing  methods  have  been  bad.  We  have 
been  trying  to  improve  these  through  our  cooperative  marketing 
associations  and  every  support  should  be  given  to  these  associations 
because  they  are  more  likely,  in  general,  to  give  better  returns  than 


1928J  THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  27 

will  individual  enterprise.  No  cooperative  association  is  perfect,  all  of 
them  make  mistakes;  but  the  principle  of  cooperative  marketing  is  one 
that  should  be  encouraged  everywhere.  The  farmers  of  California 
should  back  it. 

In  many  places  our  farming-  is  too  specialized ;  we  grow  one  crop 
on  a  farm.  The  grower  gets  along  all  right  so  long  as  that  crop  brings 
a  high  price,  but  when  the  price  goes  down,  as  it  always  does  in  the 
coui'se  of  time,  that  man  has  to  tide  over  a  number  of  lean  years 
because  he  has  no  other  crop.  If  he  has  saved  his  profits  during  the 
good  years  so  as  to  tide  him  over  the  lean  years,  he  may  successfully 
survive. 

All  crops  fluctuate  in  value.  No  croj)  brings  a  high  price  over  a 
long  term  of  years.  No  matter  what  crop  you  choose  you  are  bound 
to  find  a  price  depression  some  time  during  your  lifetime.  One  of  the 
ways  to  help  solve  your  farming  problem  may  be  to  quit  putting  all 
your  eggs  in  one  basket ;  have  more  than  one  string  to  your  bow. 
Prices  do  not  all  go  u})  and  down  together.  It  is  true  that  the  decidu- 
ous fruit  crops  usually  fluctuate  more  or  less  together,  but  livestock 
products  are  often  up  when  fruit  products  are  down.  The  man  Avho 
has  both  fruit  and  livestock  may  be  able  to  tide  himself  over  a  period 
of  low  prices  in  one  or  the  other  without  so  much  reserve  money  in  the 
bank  to  draw  upon.  Diversified  farming  then  is  one  of  the  ways  to 
make  safe  farming. 

The  difficulty  is  people  often  don't  like  diversified  farming.  The 
previous  section  has  stated  that  diversified  farming  helps  to  use  your 
time  profitably  throughout  the  whole  year.  Some  people  don't  want 
to  be  busy  the  year  around,  they'd  rather  have  one  crop  and  more 
leisure.  If  so,  they  must  expect  to  have  times  of  low  prices.  As  a 
California  fruit  grower  expressed  it,  ' '  When  I  drive  the  car  to  town,  I 
don't  want  to  leaVe  a  heart-beat  on  the  place."  The  price  of  that 
freedom  must  be  paid  during  the  period  of  low  prices  for  the  specialty 
produced. 

The  specialty  crop  problem  is  still  further  aggravated  by  too 
rapid  expansion.  In  several  cases  the  national  and  even  the  world's 
l)roduction  of  specialty  crops  is  grown  in  this  state.  For  examj^le, 
California  produces  all  the  canning  peaclies  that  are  grown  in  the 
United  States.  We  have  recently  increased  our  acreage  of  these 
peaches  by  35  per  cent.  This  means  we  shall  have  35  per  cent  more 
peaches  to  market,  which  means  a  national  increase  of  35  per  cent  in 
the  volume  of  canning  peaches.  It  looks  as  though  we  had  plenty  of 
peaches  for  the  present  moment,  and  those  folks  should  be  checked 


28 


CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE 


[CiRC.  18 


who  want  to  develop  new  lands,  sub-divide  them  and  put  them  in 
orchards  with  new  farmers  to  g'row  more  peaches,  to  make  more 
competition  for  our  present  farmers.  This  is  not  the  time  to  add  to 
the  acreage  of  our  deciduous  fruit  specialties  in  California.  It  is, 
moreover,  the  time  to  proceed  only  with  much  caution  in  any  proposal 
to  add  to  the  acreage  of  any  California  specialt}^  The  farmers  of 
California,  by  force  of  public  opinion,  can  do  much  to  hold  down 
this  increase. 


42 

m   Cost   per  ton                                                     ^_^ 

L        1   Yield   per  acre 

Selling  price 

35 
o 

"    11   -  ton  yield 

1       1 

In 

~" 

■    ■        n 

i 

1 

i 

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

t  14 

I 

o 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

7 

1 

Cost  per      ooc.^J^-«oo^^JH«J.„ca 
ton           ■^ 

Yield  p 
acre 

«r 

D               C 

D               C 
-^             C 

M               t 
D                C 

< 
n           c 

3 

O 

«J 

o 

J 

"i 

03 

CO 

o 

o 
to 

26    ^ 


Fig.  9. — Relation  of  the  yield  per  acre  to  the  cost  of  producing  peaches 
Stanislaus  County,   1927. 


in 


In  other  words,  it  is  hard  work  to  tell  what  is  wrong  with  farming 
until  we  study  the  individual  farm.  Any  one  of  several  things  may 
be  wrong,  and  often  several  of  them  are  wrong.  Figure  9  is  worthy 
of  considerable  study.  It  shows  the  actual  conditions  on  a  group  of 
peach  farms  in  Stanislaus  County.  These  records  were  carefully  made 
and  are  representative  examples  of  a  large  number  of  peach  orchards 
in  that  county  of  which  we  have  records.  The  figure  shows  the  yields 
])er  acre  and  cost  per  ton  of  peaches.  Here  are  some  farmers  getting 
large  yields  per  acre,  some  of  them  getting  more  than  20  tons  per 
acre.  The  yield  is  so  high  and  their  costs  therefore  so  low  that  they 
are  making  a  good  profit  even  in  these  years  of  bad  prices.  These 
farmers  probably  aren't  complaining;  they  are  sitting  tight  and  put- 
ting the  money  in  their  pockets.  But,  look  down  at  the  other  end 
of  the  line,  shown  at  the  left  side  of  the  chart.  These  men  are  getting 
low  yields ;  their  cost  per  ton  is  high.     They  are  growing  peaches  at 


3  0-^ J  THE    AGRICULTURAL    SITUATION    IN    CALIFORNIA  29 

higher  cost  than  they  can  sell  them  so  that  the  more  ])eaches  they 
^row  the  more  money  they  lose.  Exactly  the  same  situation  would  be 
shown  for  any  other  crop  in  any  other  community.  There  is  a  wide 
variation  between  neighboring  farms  and  the  success  with  which  they 
are  operated. 

In  other  words,  what  is  one  man's  meat  is  another  man's  poison. 
The  price  that  will  make  a  profit  for  one  man  will  mean  a  loss  for 
another.  There  is  no  repeal  of  the  law^  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest. 
In  a  time  of  low  prices  only  the  fittest  survive.  These  are  the  best 
farmers  who  use  the  best  methods  and  who  are  located  on  the  best 
lands.  Such  men  don't  have  to  worry  so  very  much  about  low  prices. 
They  go  right  on  farming.     The  other  fellows  are  squeezed  out  first. 

So,  no  one  could  state  w^hat  is  wrong  with  agriculture.  There  are 
a  good  many  things  wrong  and  not  all  of  them  can  be  cured,  but 
much  can  be  done  by  careful  study  and  wise  action. 

Many  persons  seem  to  speak  of  agricultural  economics  as  though 
it  were  something  new.  But,  the  study  of  the  financial  problems  of 
our  farms  is  far  advanced.  The  county  farm  bureaus  of  California 
and  the  Agricultural  Extension  Service  have  been  engaged  in  consid- 
eration of  these  problems  for  many  years.  This  economic  trouble 
that  we  are  all  now  discussing  is  nothing  new  to  them.  They  saw  it 
coming  years  ago  and  have  been  preparing  for  it.  There  are  thousands 
of  people  on  the  farms  of  California  who  have  long  been  weary  of 
hearing  the  farm  advisor  talk  about  the  four  factors  essential  for 
profitable  agriculture,  namely,  (1)  increased  production  per  unit,  as 
tons  per  acre,  or  pounds  per  cow;  (2)  economy  of  production,  (3) 
quality  of  products,  and   (4)   efficiency  of  marketing. 

The  Agricultural  Extension  Service,  fostered  by  the  State  Univer- 
sity and  the  Federal  Government,  has  established  resident  agents  in 
most  of  the  counties  of  California  w^io  are  known  as  farm  advisors, 
home  demonstration  agents  and  club  agents.  These  men  and  women 
have  been  studying  the  farm  problems  locally  and  know  some  of  their 
solutions.  They  haven't  found  solutions  for  all  of  the  problems  and 
never  will  find  them.  There  never  will  be  a  time  when  all  the  farmers 
are  prosperous  any  more  than  there  ever  will  be  a  time  when  all  the 
business  men  are  prosperous.  Nevertheless,  the  Agricultural  Exten- 
sion Service  does  know  some  of  .the  ways  to  increase  the  profits  of 
farming,  and  many  farmers  who  use  these  methods  are  getting  fair 
returns  on  their  money,  even  in  these  times  of  so-called  agricultural 
depression. 


30  CALIFORNIA    AGRICULTURAL    EXTENSION    SERVICE  [CiRC.  18 

The  Agricultural  Extension  Service  in  cooperation  with  the  other 
agencies  for  agricultural  progress  in  the  state,  has  drawn  up  a  program 
of  Avork  which  has  been  going  forward  in  the  rural  regions  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  farm  advisors  and  other  agricultural  agents  have  been 
hammering  away  on  a  series  of  definitely  planned  projects  which  are 
important  for  economic  success.  Each  of  these  projects  is  susceptible 
of  analysis  as  an  attempt  either  to  increase  the  tonnage  per  acre, 
decrease  the  cost  of  production,  improve  the  quality  of  the  product  or 
increase  the  efficiency  of  its  marketing.  Expressed  in  the  terms  of 
the  previous  section,  these  projects  are  designed  either  to  increase 
the  yield,  increase  the  price,  or  decrease  the  expenses. 

The  widespread  cow  testing  associations  of  California  are  enabling 
dairymen  to  increase  their  yields  of  butterfat.  The  poultry  culling 
demonstrations  have  shown  many  persons  how  to  increase  the  output 
of  eggs  per  hen.  The  field  variety  trials  of  grains  have  shown  the 
way  toward  better  yields  of  cereals.  The  systematic  cost  studies  under 
way  on  many  of  our  crops  are  enabling  farmers  to  compare  their 
methods  with  those  of  the  best  farmers  of  the  community.  In  our 
opinion,  everyone  in  the  rural  communities  of  California  should  get 
to  work  on  these  and  other  similar  projects  to  improve  the  status 
of  agriculture. 

After  all,  agriculture  creates  most  of  the  wealth  of  California. 
The  towns  of  rural  California,  their  business  men  and  bankers, 
depend  mainly  upon  the  success  of  farming  for  their  financial  support. 
The  improvement  of  agriculture  is  not  a  task  for  farmers  alone ;  it  is 
a  job  for  everyone.  To  put  farming  on  a  safer  and  better  basis  is  a 
community  task.  Farmers  need  the  help  and  cooperation  of  all 
agencies  in  the  state.  Business  men  and  bankers  should  promote 
the  program  of  the  county  farm  bureaus  and  of  the  Agricultural 
Extension  Service  for  the  sake  of  their  own  pocketbooks. 

What  is  needed  in  rural  California  is  not  so  much  a  program  for 
agricultural  advancement.  In  the  main,  that  program  exists  and  is 
under  way.  The  effort  needed  is  to  put  more  impetus  and  cooperation 
in  the  prosecution  of  the  program  already  drawn.  Many  of  the 
feasible  and  logical  solutions  have  already  been  advanced ;  the  agencies 
are  at  work;  the  field  is  ripe  for  larger  service  from  those  who  seek 
the  permanent  prosjierity  and  stability  of  California  agriculture. 


STATION   PUBLICATIONS   AVAILABLE   FOR  FREE   DISTRIBUTION 


BULLETINS 
No. 


No. 

25.1.    Irrigation    and    Soil   Oonditictns  in   the  IJSfi. 

Sierra    Nevada   Foothills,    California. 
2()2.   Citrus   Diseases   of    Florida   and    Cuba  o87. 

Compared   with   those   of   California.  388. 

2(\3.    Size  Grades  for  Ripe  Olives. 

268.   Growing  and  Gi-afting  Olive  Seedlings.  389. 

273.   Preliminary   Report  on  Kearney  Vine-  390. 

yard     Experimental     Drain,     Fresno 

County,    Calif.  391. 

277.  Sudan  Grass. 

278.  Grain   Sorghums.  392. 

279.  Irrigation  of  Rice  in  California.  393. 
283.  The  Olive  Insects  of  California.  394. 
304.   A   Study  of  the  Effects  of  Freezes  on 

Citrus  in  California. 

310.   Plum   Pollination.  395. 

313.   Pruning      Young      Deciduous      Fruit 

Trees.  396. 

324.    Storage  of  Perishable  Fruits  at  Freez- 
ing Temperatures.  397. 

328.    Prune    Growing   in    California. 

331.   Phylloxera-resistant   Stocks.  398. 

335.   Cocoanut    Meal    as    a    Feed    for    Dairy  400. 

Cows   and   Other   Livestock.  402. 

340.   Control     of     the     Pocket     Gopher     in  404. 

California.  405. 

343.  Cheese   Pests   and   Their   Control.  406. 

344.  Cold    Storage   as    an    Aid   to   the   Mar-  407. 

keting  of  Plums,  a  Progress  Report. 

347.  The  Control  of  Red  Spiders  in  Decid- 

uous Orchards.  408. 

348.  Pruning  Young  Olive  Trees.  409. 

349.  A     Study    of     Sidedraft    and    Tractor 

Hitches. 

350.  Agriculture      in      Cut-Over      Redwood 

Lands.  410. 

353.  Bovine    Infectious    Abortion,    and    As- 

sociated Diseases  of  Cattle  and  New- 
born  Calves.  411. 

354.  Results  of  Rice  Experiments  in   1922. 

357.  A    Self-Mixing    Dusting    Machine    for  412. 

Applying  Dry  Insecticides  and  Fun- 
gicides. 

358.  Black    Measles,     Water    Berries,     and  414. 

Related  Vine  Troubles. 

361.  Preliminary  Yield   Tables  for   Second-  415. 

Growth   Redwood.  416. 

362.  Dust  and  the   Tractor  Engine. 

363.  The  Pruning  of  Citrus  Trees  in  Cali-  417. 

fornia. 

364.  Fungicidal    Dusts    for    the    Control    of  418, 

Bunt. 

366.  Turkish     Tobacco     Culture,     Curing,  419. 

and   Marketing. 

367.  Methods  of  Harvesting  and  Irrigation  420. 

in  Relation  to  Moldy  Walnuts. 

368.  Bacterial      Decomposition      of      Olives  421. 

During   Pickling.  422. 

369.  Comparison     of     Woods     for     Butter 

Boxes.  423. 

370.  Factors    Influencing    the    Development 

of  Internal  Browning  of  the  Yellow  424. 

Newton   Apple. 

371.  The    Relative    Cost    of    Yarding    Small  425. 

and   Large   Timber.  426. 

373.  Pear    Pollination. 

374.  A    Survey    of     Orchard    Practices    in  427. 

the     Citrus     Industry     of     Southern 
California.  428. 

375.  Results    of    Rice    Experiments   at   Cor- 

tena,   1923,  and  Progress  in  Experi- 
ments in  Water  Grass  Control  at  the  429. 
Biggs    Rice   Field    Station,    1922-23.  430. 
377.   The  Cold   Storage  of  Pears.  431. 

379.  Walnut   Culture   in    California. 

380.  Growth    of    Eucalyptus    in    California  432. 

Plantations. 
382.   Pumping    for    Draininge    in    the    San  433. 

Joaquin    Valley,    California. 
385.   Pollination  of  the  Sweet  Cherry. 


Pruning  Bearing  Deciduous  Fruit 
Trees. 

Fig    Smut. 

The  Princii)les  and  Practice  of  Sun- 
Drying  Fruit. 

Berseem  or  Egyptian  Clover.- 

Harvesting  and  Packing  Grapes  in 
California. 

Machines  for  Coating  Seed  Wheat 
with    Copper   Carbonate    Dust. 

Fruit  Juice  Concentrates. 

Crop   Sequences   at   Davis. 

I.  Cereal  Hay  Production  in  Cali- 
fornia. II.  Feeding  Trials  with 
Cereal  Hays. 

Bark  Diseases  of  Citrus  Trees  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  Mat  Bean,  Phaseolus  Aconitifo- 
lius. 

Manufacture  of  Roquefort  Type  Cheese 
from  Goat's  Milk. 

Orchard    Heating   in    California. 

The   Utilization  of   Surplus  Plums. 

The  Codling  Moth   in  Walnuts. 

The  Dehydration   of   Prunes. 

Citrus    Culture   in    Central    California. 

Stationary  Spray  Plants  in  California. 

Yield,  Stand,  and  Volume  Tables  for 
White  Fir  in  the  California  Pine 
Region. 

Alternaria   Rot   of   Lemons. 

The  Digestibility  of  Certain  Fruit  By- 
Products  as  Determined  for  Rumi- 
nants. Part  I.  Dried  Orange  Pulp 
and  Raisin   Puli). 

Factors  Influencing  the  Quality  of 
Fresh  Asparagus  after  it  is  Har- 
vested. 

Paradichlorobenzene  as  a  Soil  Fumi- 
gant. 

A  Study  of  the  Relative  Value  of  Cer- 
tain Root  Crops  and  Salmon  Oil  as 
Sources    of   Vitamin    A   for    Poultry. 

Planting  and  Thinning  Distances  for 
Deciduous  Fruit  Trees. 

The  Tractor  on   California  Farms. 

Culture  of  the  Oriental  Persimmon  in 
California. 

Poultry  Feeding  :  Principles  and  Prac- 
tice. 

A  Study  of  Various  Rations  for  Fin- 
ishing Range  Calves    as  Baby  Beeves. 

Economic  Aspects  of  the  Cantaloupe 
Industry. 

Rice  and  Rice  By-Products  as  Feeds 
for  Fattening  Swine. 

Beef   Cattle   Feeding   Trials,    1921-24. 

Cost  of  Producing  Almonds  in  Cali- 
fornia :   a  Progress  Report. 

Apricots  (Series  on  California  Crops 
and   Prices). 

The  Relation  of  Rate  of  Maturity  to 
Egg  Production. 

Apple  Growing   in   California. 

Apple  Pollination  Studies  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

The  Value  of  Orange  Pulp  for  Milk 
Production. 

The  Relation  of  Maturity  of  Cali- 
fornia Plums  to  Shipping  and 
Dessert  Quality. 

Economic  Status  of  the  Grape  Industry. 

Range  Grasses  of  California. 

Raisin  By-Products  and  Bean  Screen- 
ings as  Feeds  for  Fattening  Lambs. 

Some  Economic  Problems  Involved  in 
the  Pooling  of  Fruit. 

Power  Requirements  of  Electrically 
Driven     Manufacturing     Equipment. 


No. 

434. 

435. 


436. 
437. 
438. 
439. 


BULLETINS— 


Investigations  on  the  Use  of  Fruits  in 
Ice  Cream  and  Ices. 

The  Problem  of  Securing  Closer 
Relationship  Between  Agricultural 
Development  and  Irrigation  Con- 
struction. 

I.  The  Kadota  Fig.  II.  Kadota  Fig 
Products. 

Economic  Aspects  of  the  Dairy  In- 
dustry. 

Grafting  Affinities  with  Special  Refer- 
ence to   Plums. 

The  Digestibility  of  Certain  Fruit  By- 
products as  Determined  for  Rumi- 
nants. Part  II.  Dried  Pineapple 
Pulp,  Dried  Lemon  Pulp,  and  Dried 
Olive  Pulp. 


(ConlmAied) 
No. 

440.  The    Feeding    Value    of    Raisins    and 

Dairy  By-Products  for  Growing  and 
Fattening  Swine. 

441.  The  Electric  Brooder. 

442.  Laboratory  Tests  of  Orchard  Heaters. 

443.  Standardization    and    Improvement    of 

California   Butter. 

444.  Series  on  California  Crops  and  Prices : 

Beans. 

445.  Economic    Aspects    of    the    Apple    Iii- 

dxistry. 


No. 

87.   Alfalfa. 
115.    Grafting   Vinifera  Vineyards. 
117.   The    selection    and    Cost    of    a    Small 

Pumping   Plant. 
127.   House  Fumigation. 
129.   The  control  of  Citrus  Insects. 
136.   Melilotus    Indica    as    a    Green-Manure 

Crop  for  California. 
144.   Oidium    or    Powdery    Mildew    of    the 

Vine. 
157.   Control   of   Pear   Scab. 
164.    Small    Fruit    Culture    in    California. 
166.   The   County  Farm   Bureau. 
173.   The    Construction    of    the    Wood-Hoop 

Silo. 

178.  The   Packing  of   Apples  in   California. 

179.  Factors    of    Importance    in    Producing 

Milk  of  Low  Bacterial  Count. 

202.  County    Organization    for    Rural    Fire 

Control. 

203.  Peat    as    a   Manure    Substitute. 
209.   The  Function  of  the  Farm  Bureau. 
212.    Salvaging   Rain-Damaged   Prunes. 
215.   Feeding   Dairy   Cows  in   California. 
217.  Methods   for  Marketing   Vegetables  in 

California. 

230.  Testing   Milk.    Cream,    and   Skim   Milk 

for  Butterfat. 

231.  The   Home   Vineyard. 

232.  Harvesting    and    Handling    California 

Cherries    for    Eastern    Shipment. 
234.  Winter     Injury     to     Young     Walnut 
Trees  During  1921-1922. 

238.  The   Apricot  in    California. 

239.  Harvesting     and     Handling     Apricots 

and  Plums  for  Eastern   Shipment. 

240.  Harvesting    and    Handling    California 

Pears  for  Eastern   Shipment. 

241.  Harvesting    and    Handling    California 

Peaches  for  Eastern   Shipment. 

243.  Marmalade     Juice     and     Jelly     Juice 

from   Citrus  Fruits. 

244.  Central  Wire  Bracing  for  Fruit  Trees. 

245.  Vine   Pruning   Systems. 

248.  Some   Common   Errors  in  Vine   Prun- 

ing and  Their  Remedies. 

249.  Replacing  Missing  Vines. 

250.  Measurement   of    Irrigation    Water   on 

the   Farm. 

252.  Support   for   Vines. 

253.  Vineyard   Plans. 

254.  The    Use    of    Artificial    Light    to    In- 

crease Winter  Egg   Production. 

255.  Leguminous    Plants    as    Organic    Fer- 

tilizers  in    California    Agriculture. 


CIRCULARS 
No. 


257. 

258. 
259. 
261. 
264, 

265. 
266. 

267. 

269. 
270. 
273. 

276. 

277. 

278. 
279. 
281. 


282. 

283. 
284. 
286. 
287. 
288. 
289. 
290. 
292. 
293. 
294. 
296. 

298. 

300. 
301. 
302. 
304, 
305, 
306, 

307, 
308, 
309, 
310 

311 


The   Small-Seeded   Horse   Bean    (Vicia 

faba    var.    minor). 
Thinning    Deciduous   Fruits. 

Pear  By-Products. 

Sewing  Grain  Sacks. 

Preliminary  Essentials  to  Bovine  Tu- 
berculosis  Control  in   California. 

Plant   Disease   and   Pest   Control. 

Analyzing  the  Citrus  Orchard  by 
Means  of  Simple  Tree  Records. 

The  Tendency  of  Tractors  to  Rise  in 
Front;   Causes  and  Remedies. 

An    Orchard   Brush   Burner. 

A  Farm  Septic  Tank. 

Saving  the   Gophered   Citrus  Tree. 

Home    Canning. 

Head,  Cane  and  Cordon  Pruning  of 
Vines. 

Olive  Pickling  in  Mediterranean 
Countries. 

The  Preparation  and  Refining  of 
Olive  Oil  in  Southern  Europe. 

The  Results  of  a  Survey  to  Deter- 
mine the  Cost  of  Producing  Beef  in 
California. 

Prevention  of  Insect  Attack  on  Stored 
Grain. 

Fertilizing  Citrus  Trees  in  California. 

The   Almond  in   California. 

Milk  Houses  for  California  Dairies. 

Potato   Production   in    California. 

Phylloxera   Resistant  Vineyards. 

Oaic   Fungus   in    Orchard   Trees. 

The  Tangier  Pea. 

Alkali    Soils. 

The    Basis    of    Grape    Standardization. 

Propagation   of   Deciduous   Fruits. 

Control  of  the  California  Ground 
Squirrel. 

Possibilities  and  Limitations  of  Coop- 
erative  Marketing. 

Coccidiosis  of   Chickens. 

Buckeye  Poisoning  of  the  Honey  Bee. 

The    Sugar   Beet  in   California. 

Drainage   on  the  Farm. 

Liming  the   Soil. 

A  General  Purpose  Soil  Auger  and 
Its  Use   on   the  Farm. 

American    Foulbrood   and   Its   Control. 

Cantaloupe    Production    in    California. 

Fruit  Tree   and   Orchard   Judging. 

The  Operation  of  the  Bacteriological 
Laboratory  for  Dairy  Plants. 

The   Improvement  of   Quality  in   Figs. 


Tlie  publications  listed  above  may  be  had  by  addressing 

College  of  Agriculture, 

University  of  California, 

Berkeley,  California. 


20m-4,'28 


